Bulgaria and 13 other countries requested an increase in the “de minimis” ceiling in the agricultural sector

SOFIA – At the meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture and Fisheries in Luxembourg, the German delegation, on behalf of the delegations of Bulgaria and 13 other member states, presented a request to the European Commission (EC) for an increase in the ‘de minimis’ ceiling in the agricultural sector to 50,000 euros, over a period of three years and respectively the national ceilings for the member states. Similar measures should also be applied for the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, reported the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF).

The Common Agricultural Policy of the EU needs an adequate budget that provides a fair level of support to farmers, to avoid inequality among agricultural producers in the EU, declared the acting agricultural minister Georgi Tahov. “It is important to consider the increasing challenges facing agriculture and to ensure a budget of sufficient size, which will bring security to the sector. It is crucial to work on equalizing the levels of direct payments, so that farmers from states with lower payments can feel on an equal footing with the rest of the farmers in the EU“, he added.

At a discussion on trade-related issues in agriculture, the acting agricultural minister stated that preliminary assessments of the impact of trade agreements and autonomous trade measures of the EU should include a more detailed analysis. The aim is to avoid compromising the viability of sensitive agricultural sectors. Tahov added that a suitable tool for limiting the negative impact would be the introduction of tariff quotas with zero or reduced duty, instead of full liberalization. He also noted that it would be good to have clarity in advance about potential measures to support vulnerable sectors.

At the end of last year, representatives of agricultural producers’ associations began a series of protests in the country with demands for the immediate payment of ‘de minimis’ amounts, so-called Ukrainian aid, and the restoration of old rates, which had been reduced. In February this year, the then Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev and five industry organizations signed an agreement to support and develop the “Agriculture” sector. The parties agreed that before starting the budget procedure for the Budget 2025, an in-depth analysis of the necessary funds would be performed to meet the needs of agricultural producers by sector, which would be subject to broad public discussion, and then the funds would be earmarked in the budget of MAF and the State Fund “Agriculture” for 2025. The Ministry of Agriculture also committed to sending inquiries to other member states about the legislative practices there.